AP Eleven

New Moon, New Record

Feb 19 2015, 1840 UT; slicing nine hours off the old record, an 18 hour 53 minute, 0.8% illuminated Moon.

∞

Moon-Venus-Mars conjunction

Feb 20 2015, 1842 UT; Mars 0.7° to the north of Venus, with a 43-hour moon.

∞

Jupiter and the Beehive

Mar 9 2015, 2055 UT; Jupiter 6° from open cluster M44, Praesepe. With carbon star X Cancri (circled).

∞

Mars-Uranus Conjunction

17 arc-minutes separate the fourth and seventh planets, with (c) mag 9.5 HIP 4325. 8-inch SCT. Mar 11 2015, 1950 UT.

∞

The Sun, March 13 2015

1630 UT, with Active Region 2297

∞

Satellites of Saturn

a – Titan, [diameter 3200 miles, mag 9.1], b – Rhea [950, 10.5], c – Dione [700, 11.1], d – Iapetus [910, 12]

Field stars in Scorpio : 1 – TYC 6209-1316-1, Mag 11; 2 – [Double] : USNOA2 0675-15354757, USNOA2 0675-15354783, Mag 12.9; 3 – USNOA2 0675-15341578, Mag 13.2; 4 – USNOA2 0675-15342760, Mag 13.5; 5 – USNOA2 0675-15340853. Mag 11.8; 6 – HD 145519, Mag 8

8-inch SCT, 25-second exposure; Mar 14 2015, 0354 UT.

∞

Nova Sagittarii 2015 No.2

Owing to problematic location, an untracked DSLR image alone (16-sec exposure, 55mm lens) was possible in recording this outburst in the ‘Teapot’ of Sagittarius, discovered from Australia on March 15 UT. Extinction reduces the magnitude here to ~6.5 compared to apparent mag of ~5.5. Mar 19 2015, 0532 UT.

∞

Mar 22, 0504 UT; now risen to mag ~4.5, on fringe of naked-eye visibility at declination -28:56. 18mm lens, 20 seconds

∞

Apr 22, 0500 IST; after several cycles of brightening/fading Nova Sgr 2015 once again scales 5th magnitude. 55mm lens, 20 sec.

∞

Jun 11 2015, 0224 IST; 88 days after discovery – nova at est mag 7 by comparison with (b), mag 6.75 HIP 91273. With (a) phi Sgr.

∞

Partial Solar Eclipse 2015

Of this 132-minute eclipse the first 131 were completely clouded out. The above image from 10.32.22 UT, 26 seconds before the eclipse ended, apparently suggests an indentation at the correct position, but could be said more reliably to represent a sun theoretically eclipsed. Maximum obscuration of 92% represented the most major eclipse since 1999 and until 2026 from this location.

∞

This observer’s image of the partial solar eclipse of (probably) Oct 12 1996

∞

The Coma Berenices Cluster

Scattered, prominent cluster containing ~40 members some 280 LY away. Also catalogued as Melotte 111. Mar 18 2015, 2128 UT.

∞

Sparkling Evening Star

Venus in Aries. Mar 21 2015, 2031 UT.

∞

Nova Ophiuchi 2015

∞

Distant Lovejoy

CHAPTER XII